Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Okay maybe this is not the exact door,but my camera ate the real photo

Why did we make this changeThe old sillThe new sill (you can get an idea of what the rest of the door looks like from this photo).

The old lock and key (yes you could get into my house with a skeleton key)

Now the front and back doors have the same keys, (you know what a house key looks like, you don't need a photo).

The storm door still needs to be added and some more trim around the door to hide the gap between the bricks the the rest of the frame. However most of it is done.

During this process we learnt:

Just because you have a 32x80" door, and you buy a new 32x80" doesn't mean that there the frames will be the same size. We had to (luckily it was this way) build up the frame on the outside of the house, so you couldn't see the backside of the brick wall.

Shims don't need to be tight to do the job, just firm. If you hammer the shims in, the door most likely wont be able to open.

The opening in the house that the door goes into is not neccessarily square

Check the weather forecast before you begin -installing a door in the rain is not fun.

Masonary work is not easy, when we took out the old sill the concrete above it fell off as well. I don't think it was orginal to the spot. Our patchwork will probably fall apart at some point too.

A small window (even covered by a curtain) lets a lot of light into a back hallway. In the morning the sun shines on the door, and when you enter you are blinded by all the white and then step into what seems as pitch darkness. When the sun swings around in the afternoon the hallway is fine.

Our house at one point had yellow (butter coloured) trim. I am hoping this was just a primer or a base since it really didn't look good with the brick work.

Judging by how much insulation we put in around the door, and any gap we could find, I think the old door was going to be drafty. So it is good we replaced it this year and not next year.

We put the door in on Saturday and tried to get everything we would need at the home improvement store on Friday. However it still took 4 trips on Saturday, plus a trip on Monday for more mortar. We are lucky that we live a 10 min walk to the store. Although for some of those trips we drove.

I am suppose to be caulking around the door right now, but I have found out I am can't operate a caulking gun - the caulk was coming out the back. I don't think that is a good idea.

1 comment:

Wow is there an archway, too??? Just kidding! You have to love old houses, though. From our experience, nothing is plumb, square, or built as you'd expect. Each owner brings their quirky way of doing things, some with shortcuts, others longcuts. Looks good, though. Did you ditch the screen door?

Most importantly, how much yarn was sacrificed in the purchase and installation of this door? After all, the blog title is 'A house made of wool.' I am personally agitating for a meter that converts house projects into yarn....